Cafe Adam, owned by the internationally-trained chef and Berkshire native Adam Zieminski, delivers. It bills itself as a brasserie. In addition to the good value that implies, the menu has plenty of impeccably-executed brasserie standards, such as boeuf Bourguignon, cassoulet, bouillabaisse Marseilles (at $22 their most popular dish, according to our genial waitress), and steak frites. Even the low-key-yet-skillful interior design nods to brasserie tradition, with firsts, wines and desserts scrawled on tall rectangles of chalkboard painted directly onto the walls. The management also justifiably claims a stake in New American Cuisine. There is a spirit of experimentation you’ll never find in a Paris brasserie, and what comes out of the kitchen is locally raised and grown “as much as possible,” with special effort invested in obtaining fresh fish. One appetizer of deep-fried Spanish onion with a yogurt-turmeric sauce was shared by five people and got ten thumbs up. The steak is offered at four price points, ranging from a $15 hache to a $28 tenderloin. We opted for the $19 hanger and were patting ourselves on the back. The profiteroles were perfect and, as promised, the crème brûlée was “just like Julia Child’s.”